In recent months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been profoundly influenced by Donald Trump. As he takes on his second presidential term, Trump seeks to fulfill one of his most voiced campaign promises; as he stated during his Concord, North Carolina rally speech on Oct. 21, 2024, “On day one, I will stop the migrant invasion. We will begin the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”

Trump has continuously taken a distinct focus on widening the scope of enforcement, shifting from the original focus on “public safety” to indiscriminate raids in communities, dominantly targeting dark-skinned Hispanics, Asians, and Black Americans.

This irrationality has sparked immense concern and anger across communities, leaving not only immigrant families to live in fear, but any individual regardless of citizenship that fits the “image,” i.e. skin color, of an immigrant.

The Arcade Editorial Board is against all means of Immigration Customs Enforcement separating families based on race, language, place of work, and the agent’s personal bias or stereotypical image of “immigrants.” We take pride in coming from a diverse editorial board and school community, and believe that we are all one—regardless of ethnicity, skin color, gender, and sexuality.

Beginning in June 2025, Los Angeles residents faced massive ICE operations, leading to numerous widespread arrests, protests, and the frequent presence of the National Guard and government funded federal troops.

SoCal residents have picked up on similar patterns, as they haven’t seen such racial injustice since the summer of 2020 when the Trump Administration did something out of the ordinary, deploying out-of-state, unfederalized national guards into Washington D.C. to respond to the George Floyd protests. Currently Trump’s actions in 2020 and 2025 marks the first time since 1965 (“Bloody Sunday”) that a president bypassed governors to federalize the Guard for domestic, uncivilized related enforcement.

A side note to Trump’s economically fruitless “One Big Beautiful Act” was to provide up to $76.6 billion in additional funding for ICE, making them one of the highest-funded federal law enforcement agencies—completely overlooking the country’s serious economic instability, health care access and cost, drug addiction, and gun violence in the country.

Subsequently, the $45 billion designated for increasing detention capacity led to the rise in numbers of people being held in ICE detention centers to hike nearly 75% in 2025. It is estimated to have climbed from 5,800 arrests in 2024 to over 40,000 by the start of 2025 and over 66,000 by the start of December 2025. The data comes from a report (Report: Immigration Detention Is Bigger, Harsher, and Less Accountable Than Ever) by the American Immigration Council, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit research organization that has consistently documented the human and systemic harms of ICE detention using federal DHS and ICE data.

According to the Jan. 18, 2026 Face the Nation interview, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the original vow was to deport immigrants with a criminal record, stating “every single individual has committed a crime, but 70% of them have committed or have charges against them on violent crimes…”

However, analysis by independent immigration research organizations have shown that it has gotten beyond out of control, harming innocent families, with the majority who have their citizenship and clean records.

According to data from TRAC: Immigration Detention Quick Facts and analysis by 5% of People Detained By ICE Have Violent Convictions, 73% No Convictions | Cato at Liberty Blog, 73% or nearly three in four people arrested by ICE have no criminal conviction or any pending criminal charges. TRAC, a research organization at Syracuse University that tracks federal immigration enforcement data, and the Cato Institute, a public policy think tank that analyzed ICE booking records, also found that only 8% of people detained by ICE have a violent or property criminal conviction, and only 5% have had a violent criminal conviction.

It is unfair for agents to conduct raids based on personal bias, perceptions of others, anonymous tips, or private investigations. Operations often focus on specific locations known to employ undocumented workers, such as factories, farms, and construction sites.

While ICE claims officers can enter homes without a judicial warrant, it is argued by opponents of ICE raids that it is an unlawful violation of the Fourth Amendment in the constitution, which states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation..”

However, a May 2025 internal U.S. ICE memo signed by ICE Director Todd Lyons, which became public in Jan. 2026, authorizes federal agents to forcibly enter homes to arrest individuals with a final order of removal, relying solely on an administrative warrant (Form I-205) signed by an ICE supervisor rather than a warrant signed by a judge.

As this memo is still in the process of being lawfully challenged, it is important to note that if ICE agents present a Form I-205, they are not required to be let in, and residents have the right to refuse entry and ask for a warrant signed by a judge.

It is logically and lawfully invalid to approve ICE agents to be able to replace an official federal judge’s signature when approving and disapproving court orders. The same agents that the government is deploying to carry out mass detention and deportation— displacing families and imprisoning people who pose no threat—are the same ones being offered up to $50,000 in financial incentives to. Yet another adversity thanks to the $30 billion in funding for hiring, training, and bonuses for agents.

New ICE employees should not be considered federal agents, if so bottom tier—nonetheless worthy of challenging the Constitution made effective in 1789.

In 2026, agent training was significantly accelerated to support, expanding recruits to as young as 18 and older than 40; as well, making the basic training program to be reduced from 22 weeks to only 47 days. The curriculum now only focuses on “tactical” operations, such as firearms and immigration law, with the 5 weeks of Spanish language training removed.

Ultimately, the expansion of ICE under the Trump administration has moved far beyond its original purpose of public safety and into a system rooted in fear, racial profiling, and unprevoked force. The majority of those detained are not violent criminals, but ordinary people—students, workers, veterans, and families—many of whom are citizens or legal residents.

When enforcement prioritizes appearance over evidence and force over accountability, it undermines the very values the nation claims to defend. Immigration policy should not come at the cost of human dignity, civil liberties, or innocent lives.

The Arcades Take on: ICE Raids

Despite being overlooked for being “too-young” or not “properly” educated, North Hollywood High School students hosted their first and very own protest on Feb. 5, 2025, coming together regardless of ethnicity, social status, and personal differences to take a stand against deportations in the San Fernando Valley.

As the rise of ICE raids and arrests continues to grow more people are beginning to speak out and protest in hope to be heard and have change occur. Students are beginning to take a stance, working alongside a student-ran instagram account, @valley.walkout.

Just recently last Friday, Feb. 6, 2026, editors and NHHS students participated alongside 30+ schools across SoCal in walk-outs and anti-ICE protests. Organized through social media, schools hosted designated meet up locations, including local parks, high-traffic street intersections, and more notably the Van Nuys City Hall.

We believe that this is the best way to convey a stance against Immigration raids. Students not only took initiative to use their voice for those who can’t but spoke up for themselves and their communities. Their empowerment encouraged other teens to take a stand of their own and not let themselves be left in the dark.

We applaud individuals for embracing bravery, going to protest and advocating for what they believe is legally and morally right. As fellow teen-journalists, we are inspired by the publications—big and small—and the professional journalists that use their power to document the catastrophe and brutality our country is facing right now, even if it means putting their job on the line.

We are all human, our citizenship status should not be the determining factor of the value of our existence or worthiness of safety, success, and equal treatment. No person should be referred to as an alien, or worse—an animal.

The Arcade Editorial Board firmly opposes these practices and calls for immigration reform that is humane, transparent, and grounded in facts rather than fear. Silence only enables injustice, and communities must continue to speak out against policies that punish the innocent under the guise of security.

Definition:

Bloody Sunday – In March 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard to protect civil rights demonstrators marching from Selma to Montgomery. This action was taken to ensure the safety of activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., following brutal violence against protesters by state troopers on “Bloody Sunday”. President Johnson took this action without the consent of Alabama Governor George Wallace, who had failed to ensure the safety of activists.